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I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

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Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#311

Post by iwasbirchyfirst »

I went from copying and pasting with ChatGPT Canvas, to Claude Artifacts, to Cursor w Claude. I haven't explored Rules yet, but have been using the Notepads for much of this. Much of my time is spent managing git commits/reverts, and preparing to bring Claude up to speed after the next chat renewal.

AI coding is like having a partner who is both the smartest person in town, but also a functional alcoholic, who's really, really good at hiding it. LLMs act like they are working in a dark warehouse with a flashlight, and Altzheimers.

They can get an amazing amount of functional code done in a few minutes, and then spend hours trying to fix one detail. My standard prompt begins with, "Don't guess, debug!" They have limited resources and will bs you if they can.

For longer projects, since every prompt is almost starting from scratch (they do have a limited buffer, which will make it easy to become complacent), if you get into repeated debugging sessions, it will start creating new functions instead making exisiting functions work, and code bloat is tremendous. Perhaps Rules work, but I've given up trying to get it to code in my style. I'm trying to have AI do all the coding so I can just be the "idea" guy ("vibe" coding), so I'm learning to let go and let it code in ways the I would hate to maintain. It's working from code examples that don't use my style, so I'm not going to keep fighting it on style (with some execptions like variable naming conventions).

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#312

Post by jimbokun »

winrid wrote: post #234
raylad wrote: post #115

I tried it on a small Django app and was not impressed in the end. It looks like it’s doing a lot, and at first I was very impressed, but after a while I realized that when it ran into a problem it kept on trying nonworking strategies even though it had tried them before and I had added to claude.md instructions to keep track of strategies and not reuse failing ones. It was able to make a little progress, but not get…

LLMs seem to work a lot better with statically typed languages where the compiler can give feedback.

LLMs are what’s finally going to make Haskell popular!

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#313

Post by fullstackchris »

gitgud wrote: post #243
abxyz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's probably the difference between "code" and "programming". An LLM can produce code and if you're willing to surrender to the LLMs version of whatever it is you ask for, then you can have a great and productive time. If you're opinionated about programming, LLMs fall short. Most people (software engineers, developers, whatever) are not "programmers" they're "coders" which is why they have a positive impres…

Interesting, but it seems ridiculous to disambiguate “Programmer” vs “Coder”. They’re synonymous words and mean the same thing right? Person who writes logic for machines

What about those two vs. the concept of "software engineering"? - there, the "code" or "program" is even _less_ important, just a tool in an ecosystem where you are asking bigger questions like "is this maintainable / testable / readable / etc.?" "is this the right language / framework for my org / others to use" and so on and so on. These questions and context quite literally represent billions of context tokens in LLM world and why I continually do not worry about 99% of the fear mongering of them replacing anybody who writes code.

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#315

Post by mrheosuper »

majormajor wrote: post #253
smallerfish wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I'm not doing leetcode or algorithm questions - it's basically "build a [tiny] product to specs", in a series of steps. I'm evaluating candidates on their process, their effectiveness, their communication (I ask for narration), and their attention to detail. I do review code afterwards. And, bear in mind that this is only round 1 - once I talk with the ones who do well, I'll go deep on a number of topics to under…

> it's basically "build a [tiny] product to specs", in a series of steps That seems like exactly what the person you're replying to is saying - that sounds like basic standard product-engineering stuff, but simpler, like any of a million examples out there that an LLM has seen a million times. "Here's a problem LLMs are good at, wow, the people using the LLMs do best at it." Tautolgy. So it's great for finding people…

But what LLM haven't look at ?

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#317

Post by jv22222 »

abxyz wrote: post #26
develoopest wrote: post #4

I must be the dumbest "prompt engineer" ever, each time I ask an AI to fix or even worse, create something from scratch it rarely returns the right answer and when asked for modification it will struggle even more. All the incredible performance and success stories always come from these Twitter posts, I do find value in asking simple but tedious task like a small refactor or generate commands, but this "AI takes the…

I think it's probably the difference between "code" and "programming". An LLM can produce code and if you're willing to surrender to the LLMs version of whatever it is you ask for, then you can have a great and productive time. If you're opinionated about programming, LLMs fall short. Most people (software engineers, developers, whatever) are not "programmers" they're "coders" which is why they have a positive impres…

Thank you for eloquently saying what I've been trying hard to express.

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#318

Post by cwalv »

Bjorkbat wrote: post #294
personjerry wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like a steal? Engineers are paid much more to do much less

Tangential, but this reminds me of something someone said on Twitter that has resonated with me ever since. Startups targeting developers / building developer tooling are arguably one of the worst startups to build, because no matter how much of a steal the price is relative to the value you get, developers insist they can build their own or get by with an open-source competitor. We're as misguided on value as we are…

I've noticed this tendency in myself and thought about the 'why' a lot, and I think it comes down to subconsciously factoring in the cost of lock-in, or worse, lack of access to fix/improve a tool I've come to rely on

Re: I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days

#320

Post by throwaway743 »

101008 wrote: post #273
atonse wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there anything inherently noble about programming if not to solve a real world problem? If they were doing it for an exam where their skills were being evaluated, that’s one thing. But if they were doing it as a means to an end, does it matter if they found a more efficient way to do it?

But copying an existing game is not solving a real world problem. You may do it to see if "I can make it", during a learning process, or as a challenge. But when you ask something/someone else to do it for you, what's the purpose?

Why are you trying to shit on the guy and put him down? What's wrong with just having fun and testing it's capabilities? So what if there's a million TD games out there? They wanted to see if it's possible and they enjoyed the experience. Or maybe someone wants to make a personalized version for someone they love, or a million other things.

And what's it matter if someone else made it? Do you make your own bread or milk your own cows? Do you build your own cars?

Like who gives a shit, when the most important thing for 95% of people is, "Can i use this? Can I operate it? What can this do for me? How does this make life easier/better/fun?".

It's also interesting as it shows the reality we're heading towards with hyper-personalized media. Love it or hate it, it's coming.

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